Does OneDrive back up my files?

Sync vs backup: what’s the difference?

Sync keeps the same files on all your devices and in the cloud. If you delete a file on your laptop, it disappears from the cloud. If ransomware encrypts files on your laptop, the encrypted versions sync up. A backup is a separate copy that doesn’t change when your files do.

Manage backup is still sync. It moves the folders you choose, such as Desktop, Documents, and Pictures, into OneDrive. That puts those files in the cloud, but a deletion or an encrypted file follows them there.

What OneDrive does protect, and for how long

Deleted items in a business OneDrive stay recoverable for up to 93 days, counted from the day you delete them, unless your administrator changed that setting. Earlier versions of a file are kept for a limited time, so you can undo a bad edit. Your administrator can change that or turn versioning off. Restore your OneDrive can roll your files back to any point in the last 30 days. These are real protections, but they’re measured in days, and Microsoft can change them, so check its current documentation.

Practice a restore before you need one

The first time you open the Recycle bin shouldn’t be the day something important goes missing. A practice run is quick, and nothing real is at risk.

1. Make a test file. Sign in to OneDrive on the web, create a new Word document, name it something like “Restore test,” and type a line in it.
2. Delete it. Point to the file, select the circle check box that appears, then select Delete on the bar at the top of the page.
3. Open the Recycle bin. In the navigation pane on the left, select Recycle bin.
4. Restore it. Select the circle check box next to your test file, then select Restore. Go back to where you made it and check that it’s there.

If a file isn’t in the Recycle bin: in a work or school account, check for a link to the second-stage recycle bin at the bottom of the Recycle bin page. If you don’t see one, ask your administrator. Anything permanently deleted can’t be restored.

On a Windows computer: if you deleted the file from your OneDrive folder in File Explorer, check the Windows Recycle Bin too. Right-click the file and select Restore, and it goes back to its original folder. Files that were online-only don’t show up there, so use the OneDrive website instead.

Where to look, smallest fix first

• A missing file: the Recycle bin on the OneDrive website.
• A bad edit: open the file’s version history and restore an earlier version.
• Ransomware or a mass deletion: use Restore your OneDrive and pick a time before it happened. It undoes every change after that point, so read the activity list before you select Restore. Microsoft says you can undo the restore by running Restore again.

Do you need a third copy?

OneDrive can be your second copy. It’s stored off your laptop, so a fire or a theft doesn’t take it too. It can’t be your last copy, because it changes whenever your files do. A separate backup service makes the third copy. A good one gives you:

• A longer history, set by you, not by OneDrive’s windows.
• One history for everything: files, mail, and shared sites, not only what someone saved to OneDrive.
• A separate place, outside your Microsoft account, so someone who takes over that account can’t simply delete it.
• Deletions that don’t follow. It keeps old versions, so a deleted or ransomware-locked file doesn’t overwrite the good copy.

Ask any provider how it handles each of these. To decide, ask what it would take to recreate your files from nothing. If none of the signs below fit your business today, OneDrive’s own tools plus a practiced restore may be enough for now. Write that decision down and revisit it when the business changes.

When someone leaves

When a user account is deleted, that person’s OneDrive is kept for 30 days by default, and your administrator can change that. Move anything you need before it ends, or ask your administrator to set a longer period.